Firey Rain
by Moonbeam-987
Summary: When Zuko's past is haunting him, will he trust Katara with his story? And will he find a new love?
1. Chapter 1

**Here is chapter 1! Yay! It's kind of boring, but I couldn't think of another way to start the story.**

**Hope you like it!**

**I do not own ATLA and/or any of the characters.**

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Katara looked at the scene before her and couldn't help but to smile.

Sokka was on the couch asleep, and Aang and Toph were drawing all over his face. Aang drew a very impressive mustache, while Toph just kind of splashed the ink on his face with a brush.

Katara knew that Sokka would be furious when he woke up, but she didn't want to ruin Aang and Toph's fun. Sozin's Comet was due in a week, and she wanted everyone to be as happy as they could be, because she honestly didn't know if they were all going to still be around next week. She hated to think like this, but she didn't know if Aang's plan to bring down the Fire Lord "humanely" was going to work, and she knew that they all might not make it. So she wanted to make the next week as enjoyable as she could.

Sokka stirred in his sleep. Toph and Aang got up and hid the ink in the side table drawer, and proceeded to sit on the other couch acting as if they had been sitting there all day.

Sokka finally woke up and rubbed his eyes."What are you guys looking at?" he asked with a groggy voice.

"Oh, nothing" Aang said with a sly grin.

"I swear you're just as weird as that day we found you in that iceberg." Sokka said as he got up off the couch.

Katara couldn't hold in her giggles anymore. She busted out laughing, and Aang and Toph joined in.

"What the heck are you guys laughing at? Do I have something on my face?" he rubbed at his face.

This only made them laugh even harder. Aang doubled over in laughter, Katara had to hold her ribs from the pain of laughing, and Toph had small tears leaking from her eyes. Katara thought that she would never be able to stop laughing.

"Come on guys, what's so funny?" Sokka asked.

Then Suki walked in the living room. She took one look at Sokka and joined in with the laughter.

"You too?" he asked weary. He just couldn't figure out what in the world they were laughing at.

Sokka rubbed at his face trying to see if he could feel anything, but nothing was there. Then he looked down at his clothes, and found nothing there either.

While Sokka was inspecting himself Zuko walked in and chuckled. "Umm… Sokka you have a little ink on your face" he said trying to hold his composure.

Sokka moved to the mirror in the hallway, and found his face covered in black ink. He spun around and looked at all of them. Underneath all of the ink, Katara could see that Sokka's face had turned red with fury. If he could spit fire, she knew he wouldn't hesitate.

"I know it was you Toph and Aang. Just wait I'll get you back!" he said as he tried to wipe some of the ink off.

"We'll see about that Sokka." Toph said in between chuckles, as Sokka stormed off to his room. Suki followed trying to talk him down, to no avail.

"He's really mad." Zuko said as he sat down on the couch beside Katara.

"His face was priceless when he looked in the mirror" Aang said as he wiped small tears from his eyes.

"He will try to get you back. I'd watch it if I were you." Katara said trying to warn them, even though she knew Sokka wouldn't do anything to serious.

"Sokka is not sneaky in the least bit. I could hear him coming from 50 miles away." Toph said with a smug smile.

"Yeah," Aang said in agreement, "and even if he had Suki help him, Toph would be able to warn us if he was up to something."

"Well I hope nothing happens to Toph's feet" Katara said in a joking manor.

"Yeah, as long as certain firebender," Toph looked towards the direction where Zuko was sitting, "doesn't burn them again."

"How many times do I have to tell you Toph, I'm sorry." He replied. "I'm already your slave, what else do you want?"

"Nothing, I just like giving you a rough time." Toph said with an evil little chuckle, followed by a yawn.

"What? Is the slave driver sleepy?" Zuko asked sarcastically.

"Why yes I am." She snapped her fingers. "Come on my slave, I'm not going to carry myself to my room."

Zuko got up and walked over to the couch and turned around.

"Hop on you little Hog Monkey." He said as he leaned down for Toph to jump on.

When she got on she gave a swift kick to Zuko's abdomen and said, "Yip. Yip."

Zuko craned his neck to look at her. "Do I look like Appa to you?"

"Sort of. Both of your hair is fluffy." She said as she tousled his hair.

With that they were off down the hallway. Katara loved how everyone was in such a good mood. She wondered if they were also trying to make their, maybe, last few days together memorable, or if they thought they would just show up, kill the Fire Lord, and then return home like any other day.

She yawned and realized that she was also very tired. "I think I'm going to go to bed also" she said as she got to her feet.

"Me too," Aang agreed.

Katara was starting to go towards the stairs when Aang suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Do I get a good night kiss?" he asked.

"Sure," Katara leaned down and kissed Aang on the cheek. "Good night Aang."

"Good night Katara." He said as he blushed, rubbing the back of his neck.

As Katara walked up the stairs she thought about all of her relationships with the people she lived with.

Sokka was her brother, which was obvious. And even though he got under her skin most of the time, she still loved him. Suki was her brother's girl friend. She was much like the older sister Katara always wanted. Toph was rude and obnoxious, but Katara was the mother-figure that she needed. Sure they disagreed on a lot of things, but the love was there. Zuko hadn't been a part of their "family" but for only a month or so, but he was good with Toph. He kept her entertained, and he was the only one that could make her eat her vegetables.

And then there was Aang. Katara knew that he had feelings for her, and she had feelings for him to. He was a part of her. She had brought him back to life, they were connected.

She opened her door and flopped down on her bed. She was so happy that Zuko had suggested moving into his parent's old beach house, it was much more comfortable than the Western Air Temple. She much preferred sleeping in a big comfy bed, instead of the cold, hard ground.

As Katara laid there, she thought about how her life would change if Aang successfully brought down the Fire Lord.

_Would Sokka and Suki get married, and make Suki her official sister? Would Toph go back home, and make up with her parents? Would Zuko become Fire Lord? _And then bigger questions popped up in her head. _What would happen between her and Aang? Would they be more than just friends?_ _Was it even possible?_

She slowly drifted off to sleep with these questions circling in her head.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 is here! I would have to say that this is one of my favorite chapters so far!**

**Hopey you likey it!**

**I do not own ATLA and/or any of the characters.  
Salji on the other hand is mine

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**

_**The grass that he stood in was almost as tall as him. He could hear a girl giggle, but he couldn't figure out where it was coming from. He turned in a circle trying to find where she was hiding.**_

"_**Where did you go Salji?" he yelled into the wind.**_

_**He waited for a response, but didn't get one. He yelled it again and heard her giggle. He followed her giggles. He looked everywhere trying to find her, and then he saw her. He was running towards her, but the faster he ran the farther away he got from her. **_

"_**ZUKO, HELP ME!" she screamed. **_

Zuko woke up drenched in sweat. He sat up panting trying to catch his breath. This same dream had been cropping up in his sleep all week, and he knew that this year wasn't going to be any easier.

He looked out his window and saw that the sun was just about to peak over the horizon. Nobody would be awake for a few more hours. He laid back down and tried to close his eyes. But when he closed his eyes all he could see was her face. He tried shaking the image out of his head, but it didn't work. He would never be able to get the horrific image out of his head.

Suddenly he heard the _pitter, patter_ of footsteps outside his door. He sat back up waiting to see who was up this early. There was a soft _tap, tap_, and then a girl's voice.

"Zuko?" Katara's voice came clear from the other side of the door.

"Come in." he said trying to compose himself.

Katara opened the door slowly, stepped in, and then closed the door as quietly as she could. She walked over and sat on the end of the bed across from Zuko and looked into his eyes.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Well you were screaming your head off just a little while ago" she said looking down at her lap.

"Oh, sorry. It was just a bad dream."

He couldn't believe that he was screaming in his sleep. Sure his uncle would always say that he talked in his sleep, but he never believed him. They sat in silence for a moment or two, because neither of them really knew what to say. While sitting there Zuko remembered what happened under Ba Sing Se. He had opened up to Katara, and he betrayed her. How could she sit in the same room with him without yelling at him in rage?

"Who's Salji?" Katara asked bringing Zuko out of thought.

Zuko froze. How could she know that name? Nobody knew that name in this house except for him. He had to think on his toes.

"I don't know. Why do you ask?" he lied easily.

"That's what you were screaming. You kept on yelling "_Salji, Salji"_ at the top of your lungs."

"Oh… well I've never heard that name." he said not looking into her gaze. "I wonder why I was yelling that."

"Well I was hoping you knew." She said trying to make him look at her in the eyes.

"Well I don't know" his voice just above a whisper.

He wished she would just drop it, but knowing Katara she would never let it go. _Dear Sages_, _why did I have to scream her name?_ He thought to himself.

Katara must have realized that he didn't want to talk about it, because she quickly changed the subject.

"Well I guess I should go make breakfast for everyone" she said hesitantly. Zuko could tell she wanted to know, but she didn't want to push him too far.

She stood up, and Zuko mimicked her and grabbed her wrists. When he did this a voice from his past whisked through his ears. _I'll save you from the pirates._

"Thank you for coming to check on me" he said trying to sound as normal as he could.

A light pink color stained her cheeks, this made Zuko smile. The way the color contrasted with her skin, looked beautiful on her. He dropped her wrists and walked back to sit on the bed.

"You're, umm, welcome" she said dizzily and exited the room.

After she left Zuko flopped back onto the bed. That was too close, he couldn't let another slip up happen again. Katara knew her name, and who knows what else he had said in his sleep that she might have heard. The only thing that was keeping him calm was the fact that it was going to be over soon. He turned to lay on his right side. He clutched his ribs trying to make the pain in his chest go away. It eased the pain a little, but the ache was still piercing his lungs. He felt as if he was suffocating.

"I just have to get through one more day" he told himself as he squeezed his ribs harder.

After laying there for a while he started to hear everyone else wake up and make their way downstairs. Zuko knew that if he didn't show up for breakfast that Katara would come to his room and try to talk to him again. He couldn't handle another talk so he got up off of the bed.

He pulled his shirt on and walked to the bath room. His hair was all over the place and he had a dark ring under his good eye. He turned on the sink faucet and leaned over it. He gathered the cold water in his hands and splashed himself in the face. After he dried his face off he continued with brushing his teeth. When he finished with that he ran his fingers through his hair trying to tame it, but it only made it worse.

When he looked presentable he walked down the stairs. As he entered the kitchen everyone had already eaten most of their breakfast, and a bowl full of food was sitting at the table where he usually sat.

"Well look who's up" Sokka said with his mouth full of food. "Nice of you to join us Sparky."

Zuko discarded the statement and sat down at the table. A bowl of jook with fresh berries was sitting in front of him, and he just looked at it. His chest hurt too much to allow him to eat. Just looking at the food made him nauseous.

Sokka took note of this. "Are you going to eat that?" he asked after he finished all of his food.

Zuko shook his head and shoved the bowl towards Sokka.

"Thanks Sparky!" Sokka exclaimed as he started to shovel the food into his mouth.

"Why aren't you hungry?" Toph asked worried.

"I'm just not." Zuko said as he looked out the window.

"Well ok then Mr. Crankypants." She said defensibly.

"I'm sorry Toph. I didn't mean to sound rude." He explained.

"It's ok. We've all gotten use to your mood swings." Toph said with a big grin.

"Ha, ha, ha, very funny Toph." Zuko said as he picked her up out of her chair by her feet.

"Hey put me down! I can't see!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"You know I would put you down, but I think I feel another mood swing coming on, and it's telling me to keep you hanging here for a little while longer." He said as a small smile spread across his face.

"Zuko! Put me down!" she said as she tried to punch him in the stomach.

He stood there holding Toph upside down a little longer, and finally put her down. She was mad at him, and that only wanted to make him laugh.

"That wasn't funny Zuko!" she said as she started to pout.

Zuko got down on his knees to where his eyes were even with Toph's sitting in her chair. "I'm sorry Toph, will you forgive me?" he asked.

"I guess I can't stay mad at you forever. You're still my slave." She said with a grin.

Toph leaned forward and hugged Zuko around the neck. He hugged her back. Toph was like the little sister Azula should have been. He loved Toph as if she was his own sister, and she loved him back.

They broke apart and Toph looked at Aang. "Are you ready for training?" she asked.

"Sure " he said as he got up.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here is chapter #3! It's not the best. I had a few problems writing it, but oh-wells!**

**Hope you don't fall asleep while reading**

**I do not own ATLA and/or any of the characters.  
Except for Salji! She is mine!**

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Since Toph was training Aang today, Katara figured that she could corner Zuko and ask him what was wrong. Even though he had told her there was nothing to talk about, she knew that there was. There had to be some reason he was yelling some girls name in his sleep loud enough to wake her up.

Right after breakfast Zuko had snuck up stairs, and Katara planed on following a little while after.

She walked up the stairs to Zuko's room, knocked on the door and waited for a reply. One didn't come. She knocked again, a little harder this time. All of a sudden the door flew open.

"What do you want Katara?" Zuko asked wearily.

"I want to know what's the matter with you. This morning I wake up to hearing you screaming some girls name, you won't eat, and it looks as if you haven't gotten any sleep. I just want to help you Zuko. Please let me help you." She pleaded.

"I don't want your help Katara."

"Zuko, you need to tell someone what the problem is. It's not good to keep things bottled up inside."

"Katara, I don't want nor need your help." He said, and then abruptly shut the door in her face.

Katara couldn't believe that he just shut the door in her face. Why did he have to be so infuriating? She thought that if she offered to help him out that he might just open up to her like he did in Ba Sing Se, but she was apparently wrong.

She stormed off to do the laundry. As she scrubbed the clothes with soap, she relived her and Zuko's imprisonment together.

"_I'm sorry I yelled at you before." She said turning to him  
_

"_It doesn't matter." He said indifferently.  
_

"_It's just that for so long now, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face."  
_

"_My face," he lifted his hand to his scar, "I see."  
_

"_No, no, that's not what I meant." She said wishing she had more control over her words._

"_It's okay. I used to think this scar marked me. The mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever. But lately, I've realized I'm free to determine my own destiny, even if I'll never be free of my mark."  
_

"_Maybe you could be free of it." She had a crazy idea that possibly could work.  
_

"_What?"  
_

"_I have healing abilities."  
_

"_It's a scar. It can't be healed." He said turning back around  
_

"_This is water from the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole. It has special properties, so I have been saving it for something important" she said trying to explain. "I don't know if it would work, but..."_

_He turned back around and leaned his head towards her. She put her hand on his scar. It felt different than she thought it would. It wasn't scaly like she imagined, it was actually had sort of a glossy, silk feeling. _

"Hello? Katara?" Aang interrupted her thoughts.

"Oh, hey Aang." She said as she got back to washing the clothes.

"You know you've been scrubbing that in the same spot for like 5 minutes." He said as he pointed towards the shirt Katara had in her hand.

She looked down and saw that her hands were all wrinkly and only one part of the shirt was soapy.

"Oops. I guess I zoned out." She blushed as she said this.

"Do you want to practice some waterbending with me?"

"I can't," she replied, "I really need to finish washing these clothes, and then I've got to make lunch."

"Oh, ok." He stalked off obviously upset.

Katara hated to hurt Aang's feelings, but she had to finish the chores, and make lunch for everyone.

Soon she was through washing the clothes started to walk downstairs. She wanted to stop by Zuko's room and try to ask him again, but she knew he would do exactly what he did last time. So she moved on to the kitchen.

She decided to stew some ocean kumquats for lunch. She knew Zuko wouldn't eat, but she made enough to feed six anyways. When she finished making the stew she yelled "Lunch is ready!' loud enough for everyone to hear.

Everyone came to the table except Zuko. Katara rationed out everyone a bowl of stew and got a bowl for herself.

"Where's Zuko?" Suki asked.

"He's up in his room." Toph replied. "I think he might be sick or something." She said with a worried look on her face.

Katara couldn't even begin to imagine what Toph must be going through because of Zuko's indescribable behavior. She was the closest to him out of the whole house, and he apparently wouldn't even tell her.

"I'm sure he's ok Toph" Katara said as she patted her on the shoulder.

"I hope so" Toph said just above a whisper.

They finished eating their lunch and when everyone was through they went back to their normal activities. Katara saw Toph sneak up to Zuko's room. She secretly hoped that Zuko would tell Toph what was wrong, and then Toph would relay the information to her.

Katara thought that she would clean the dishes while Toph went and talked to Zuko. She ended up washing all of the dishes, cleaning the house, and made supper by the time Toph can back down.

"Hey Toph" she said with a cheerful smile.

"Sweetness, I know you are planning to ask me if Zuko told me anything, but I can't tell you." She said with tiny tears welling up in her eyes.

"Come on Toph, I just want to help him. Don't you want to help him too?"

"I do want to help him, but he won't tell me what's wrong" now the tears rolled down Toph's face. "He won't let me help him Katara. I need to help him, but he won't let me."

Katara grabbed Toph and embraced her. She had never really seen Toph cry, and she never wanted to see her cry like this. She loved Zuko, and he loved her, but then why was he hurting her like this?

"Toph, you stay right here, I'm going to figure out what is the matter with him." She said as she let go of Toph.

"Katara, no, please don't bother him. He's really upset at whatever happened. Just let him be for now." She pleaded to Katara.

"No Toph, I've got to go see what his problem is. He can't just avoid it forever."


	4. Chapter 4

**Here is chapter 4! WHOOOO WHOO! I love this chapter. I know that its nowhere near what happened in the series, but that is why its call fanfiction!**

**Hope you like it as much as I do!**

**I do not own ATLA, or any of the characters.  
Except Salji, she is mine **

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A small tear escaped from his good eye. He didn't want to hurt Toph's feelings, but he had to. He couldn't tell her what happened in his past. The anniversary was tomorrow, and then after that he could shove it in the back of his mind until next year.

He heard someone stomping up the stairs, and he knew who it was. He knew that after Toph left his bedroom that Katara would be waiting for a full report over what was said. But he didn't tell Toph anything, so now Katara was coming t yell at him.

Katara didn't even bother to knock. The door came flying open, and she stood there enraged.

"You better tell me what on earth is the matter with you, right this instant!" she yelled at him.

"Katara, please close the door." He didn't want anyone else hear what was going on.

After she shut the door she waited for him to start talking, but he didn't. "Well…"

"Katara, I can't tell you just like I couldn't tell Toph." He said looking down at his hands.

"There is a girl down stairs balling her eyes out, because you wouldn't tell her what was the matter with you! She just wants to help you Zuko!"

Zuko knew that this was going to happen, but hearing the words come out of Katara's mouth just made him feel even worse. He knew that Toph and Katara just wanted to help, but he couldn't tell them. He couldn't tell anyone.

"Katara, I know she just wants to help me, but she can't. Nobody can." He whispered.

"Zuko, maybe if you told someone what was going on with you, they could help you."

"I CAN'T TELL ANYONE!" he yelled in her face. "They would only judge me if I did."

Zuko couldn't believe he lost it like that. This week had put him through a lot, and usually his uncle was there to help him through it, but this year he didn't even know where his uncle was. He looked at Katara. He could see the tears starting to gather in her eyes. He had hurt her feelings.

"Katara, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you, it's just… I can't tell you ok."

"Come on Zuko. Please tell me. I want to help, but I can't if you won't let me." She said as she wiped her tears from her eyes. "Please tell me who Slaji is."

"Katara, just forget you ever heard that name." he said in a stern voice.

"Who is she Zuko?" she pressed even harder.

"Katara! It doesn't matter who she is. Just drop it!"

She stood there with her hands on her hips. Zuko could tell she wasn't going to leave until he told her. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to tell her what was going on and if he didn't tell her she would hound him about until he did tell her. If he went ahead and told her then she would quit begging him, and then the day after tomorrow he could get back to normal life.

"Ok, I'll tell you, but you have to promise never to tell another soul, not even Toph."

"I promise Zuko." She said agreeing.

"I lied this morning; I do know who Salji is. When I was young she was my best friend. She was beautiful. She had long dark chocolate brown hair and perfect porcelain skin and the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. They were gold, but if you looked really close they had a rim of blue around her pupil. We spent every waking second together, where I was she was. Right after I turned thirteen I was told I had been betrothed to Mai since I was born. I didn't like Mai though; she was just Azula's boring friend to me, nothing more. I had already decided that I wanted to marry Salji, but it could never be because she wasn't born of any higher power, and the fact that she was a secret waterbender didn't help."

"Wait, she was a waterbender?" Katara asked baffled.

"Yes, her mother was Fire Nation, but her dad was from the Northern Water Tribe. She really didn't look Water Tribe, but she was a great waterbender. Nobody but her mother and I knew about this, her mom didn't want her to be banished or killed because of her heritage, so Salji hid her bending."

"Wow, that's amazing."

"She was amazing" he said with a small smile.

This was the only time he had talked about Salji to anyone. It felt good to talk about her, but it also made his chest even hurt more when he thought about how the story ended.

"So what happened?" Katara asked with wide eyes.

"One day Salji and I went to our favorite place to play, it was a big open field with grass that was almost as tall as me back then, just outside the palace. We were playing Hide and Fire, I found her and we just sat there and laughed for what seemed hours." His face changed so drastically within two seconds. It went from a small smile to a face full of anguish and pain.

"When we stopped laughing we heard this weird sound, I look behind Salji and saw a mongoose dragon ready to attack. We both start running as fast as we could, and I knew that Salji wasn't as fast as me, so I threw my hand out behind me for her to grab, but she never did. I came to a complete stop and turned around looking for her, but she wasn't there. It was then I heard her scream." He shuddered. He felt hot tears slowly starting to fall down his face.

"She was screaming my name and I ran as fast as I could to find her. When I got to her the mongoose dragon was on top of her, scratching at her face and body, and I reacted. I used my firebending to get the animal off of her and it ran away."

Katara would gasp every once in a while, but Zuko just continued on with the story.

"When I got to her she had lost a lot of blood, she was barely conscious. I tried to keep her awake as I ran her back to the palace. My dad and uncle were in a war meeting, and I couldn't find the palace healer, so I had to barge in on the meeting. My eyes caught my uncles, and he came rushing towards me taking Salji out of my arms and took her somewhere. I started after him, but my dad grabbed my arm. He told me I had disgraced him by barging in like that. When I tried to tell him what happen he wouldn't listen. He called an Agni Kai against us." The tears streamed freely down his face now, he looked over at Katara and tears also streamed down her face.

"Hold on. What's an Agni Kai?" Katara interrupted.

"It's what we do to resolve conflicts. Two opponents meet on a battlefield and duel with only firebending. The goal in the duel is to knock your opponent off-balance, and incapacitate them with a final blow. Whoever wins is the one who wins the argument or whatever the duel was called for."

"Ok, so why did your father duel you to one. The only reason you barged in was because you were trying to save her."

"He didn't like how I disagreed with the arranged marriage with Mai. To him it showed I wasn't loyal to the Fire Nation, and he knew it was because of Salji that I disagreed. So he really didn't care that she was moments from death, he was dueling me to an Agni Kia so I would suffer. I told him I wouldn't fight him, I had to be with Salji. So he decided to teach me a lesson." Zuko pointed at his left eye, to the huge burn mark that covered his left cheek bone, eye, ear, and went up into his hairline.

Katara was shocked. "How could he do that? The girl you loved was dying and he decided to teach you a lesson? That's barbaric!"

"I don't know." Zuko said in a small voice. "After he burned me I was out for a couple of weeks, and when I woke up he banished me because I refused to fight him, because it showed I was weak. He told me I couldn't return until I had the Avatar. I asked my uncle what happened to Salji, and he told me, that he had been told, she died while I was unconscious." At this point he could barely talk he was crying so much.

The next thing he knew Katara was wrapping her arms around his neck and was hugging him. He hugged her back, not holding back any of his tears. After a few minutes they finally broke apart.

"The reason I've been acting weird all day, is because tomorrow it's been three years since the accident." He said as he wiped his tears away with the sleeve of his shirt.

"Oh, Zuko that's terrible. I can't believe that you went through all of that when you were only thirteen!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's not your usual childhood. Usually at that age you're supposed to be worrying about puberty, or who you are going to ask to the school dance. I was grieving for the girl I loved." Fresh tears started to flow after he said this, and Katara grabbed him in another hug.

"I didn't even get to tell her I loved her" he cried into Katara's shoulder.

"Is there anything I could do to make this easier on you Zuko?" Katara asked.

"You could bring Salji back" he said in a very low whisper so Katara wouldn't hear.

"I wish I could" she answered to his surprise.

After they both stopped crying, they sat back and looked at each other. Katara was right. It made him feel better that she new. He had all of this repressed sadness about Salji, and it felt good to get it off of his chest.

"We should probably go down stairs and eat. Sokka's probably eaten Toph by now" he said trying to lighten the mood.

He shifted to get up off the bed, and Katara grabbed his hand. Her hand was soft in his. He could feel his cheeks turning red, but he didn't know why.

"Are you going to be ok?" she asked.

"Yes, I will be fine." He said giving her a smile.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5! Its a tincy tiny boring... and if it feels like I repeated things more than once, I'm sorry:)**

**I do not own ATLA or any of the characters**  
**But Salji's mine! :)

* * *

**As they walked downstairs Katara replayed what Zuko just told her in her mind.

His mom disappeared, he lost the love of his life, and his father banished him all in one year of his life. No wonder he had always seemed older than he really was.

They held hands until they reached the end of the stairs. Katara knew why he let go of her hand, and she let go of his too. She knew that if her brother saw them holding hands, his imagination would get the best of him.

When they entered the kitchen everyone was sitting around the table eagerly waiting for dinner to be served.

"Where have you been Katara? I was about to eat my belt!" Sokka exclaimed from his seat at the table.

"I had to… uh… help Zuko fold some of his cloths" she said trying to lie smoothly.

Katara looked over at Toph expecting her to call her out on her lying, but Toph had her head down, and her face was covered by her hair. Katara knew that she and Zuko would have to tell Toph something, even if it wasn't the truth.

"Well, are we going to eat or what?" Sokka said pulling Katara out of her thoughts.

Soon everyone was full and contempt. Sokka, Suki, and Aang went into the living room after dinner, but Toph lingered in the kitchen as Katara and Zuko cleaned the dishes. Katara knew that she had chosen to stay behind because she expected either Katara or Zuko to tell her what was going on.

"Are one of you going to tell me what the heck is going on with Zuko?" Toph asked as if she had read Katara's mind.

"Nothing's wrong with-"

"Don't lie to me Zuko. I know there is something going on with you and I wish you would just tell me." She said with tears streaming silently down her cheeks.

Katara hated to see Toph like this. She hated seeing her so weak and not being able to help her. If Zuko hadn't made her swore not to tell Toph, she would have told her in a heartbeat to save her from this pain.

"Toph, trust me, there is nothing wrong with Zuko." Katara said trying to make herself sound believable.

"Sweetness, I can tell that you're lying to me! Just tell me what in the world is wrong with Zuko!" she yelled through her sobs.

Zuko walked over to Toph with his arms held out for a hug, but pushed her palm in his chest holding him back from her.

"Zuko, how could you tell her and not me? I thought we were friends. Heck, I think of you as my own brother, and yet you can't tell me what's going on?" she said as she dropped her hand from his chest. "I thought we could tell each other anything" she finished in a whisper.

Katara couldn't help but to cry. It was tearing her up inside to see Toph so sad, she couldn't even imagine what it was doing to Zuko.

Zuko took Toph's hands in his and looked her in the eyes. "Toph, I wasn't planning on telling anyone what's been the matter with me, but you know how pushy Katara can be. I just don't want everyone to feel sorry for me."

"But-" she started, but Zuko's index finger covered her mouth.

"I wasn't finished Toph. I'm going to tell you what happened, but you've got to promise not to tell a soul." He turned to look at Katara. "And I don't want to discuss anything about this after tomorrow."

"Ok, I promise Sparky." Toph replied, and Katara nodded her head.

Zuko told Toph the whole story that he had just told Katara not a few hours before. Katara watched and saw every facial expression that Toph had as she heard the story. Toph rarely had questions through the story. Most of the small questions she asked were similar to Katara's and Zuko answered them. The only thing different from when he told the story to Katara and now was that he wasn't as emotional. Sure he did tear up, but it wasn't like it was earlier. Katara assumed that it was because he had already explained it once tonight so he had already gotten out a lot of his emotions. After he finished the story his arms were full of Toph.

"Why couldn't you have just told me? Why did you have to keep all of this from me? It's not like I would have loved you any less." She said as she hugged him tighter.

"I don't know, I really didn't want to tell anyone at all. I don't want people to treat me differently because of what happened to me in the past." He answered in a thick voice. "I don't want to be weak."

"You're not weak Zuko" Katara interjected. "You're one of the strongest people I know, besides Toph." She ended with a chuckle.

"Sweetness is right, you are not weak, heck, you telling me that story made me think you are way tougher than I ever thought you were" Toph said as she wiped tears from her eyes.

Zuko gave a little smile and helped Toph finish wiping the tears from her face. Katara couldn't help but smile. If she didn't know Toph and Zuko and saw them walking on the street, she would have believed that they were true brother and sister. It was amazing how much they loved each other in that brotherly sisterly way even though they weren't related in anyway, or the fact that they were from two different nations.

"I love you Zuko" Toph said as she grabbed in another hug.

"I love you too" he said as he buried his face in her shoulder.

Katara felt a little out of place at the moment, so she slowly exited the kitchen so they could have some time alone. As she walked to her room she thought about her and Zuko's talk earlier. He had been so vulnerable and emotional. Then she thought about what she had just witnessed in the kitchen with him and Toph. Tonight she realized for the second time that Zuko was a human being. The first time was underneath Ba Sing Se, but soon after that he betrayed her. This time, she knew that he wouldn't betray her. He had become a part of their family, and she knew that he wouldn't turn his back on them.

As she walked in her room and plopped on her bed her thoughts flowed back to her and Zuko holding hands as they walked down stairs. His hand was rough but also had a softness to them. They were warm, and sent a tingling sensation up her arm and down her spine. She really didn't know how to explain this feeling.

At one point she contemplated herself having feelings for Zuko, but pushed it out of her head. There was no way she had feelings for Zuko that were beyond friendship. They really just formed a real friendship tonight, so there was no possible way she could like Zuko as more than a friend. Or could she…

She _huffed _and turned over on her side. She could feel sleep trying to overcome her, but she was to wound up from today's events. Her mind started to wonder and somehow she ended up thinking about kissing Zuko. _How would his lips feel against mine? He probably would never even think about kissing me. Does he think about kissing me?_ Then she caught herself._ You can't kiss Zuko! He's in love with a dead girl! You can't have feelings for him!_

She pushed all of these thoughts out of her head and thought about Aang. She loved him, and he loved her. Point blank. There was nothing that was going to change that. She had to remember this.

_Zuko isn't the one for you, Aang is_she thought to herself. And with this thought she fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Here is the next chapter!:) Sorry It's been so long, been really busy going to school and what not. I would like to say thanks for the reviews!:)) I hope you love it!**

**I do not own any of the Avatar characters, only Slaji:)**

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Zuko awoke to Katara shaking him violently. He looked in to her tear filled eyes half asleep trying to figure out what was going on.

"Katara, what do you think you're doing?" he asked as he sat up. He looked around and saw Toph sitting at the end of his bed. Then he looked outside of his window and saw that the sun was just about to brake over the horizon.

"You were yelling in your sleep again." She said as a tear escaped her eye.

Zuko lifted his hand and slowly wiped the stray tear form her face. He realized that today was going to be rough for all three of them. He would be morning a death, but Katara and Toph were going to be watching him go through all of this, and he knew that wasn't going to be easy for them.

"I'm ok. There is no reason to cry Katara." He said trying to sooth her.

"I'm sorry Zuko. I didn't-"

"Shhh. It's ok Katara." He said as he pulled her into a hug. Over her shoulder he saw Toph wiping a tear from her eye. He stretched out his arm and pulled Toph into the hug.

They sat there for a long time just embracing each other. No one said anything; they just sat there in silence hugging. But they had to break a part sooner or later.

"Ok, I don't want to see any of this outside of this room." He said in a stern voice.

Both Katara and Toph nodded in agreement.

"I'm going to go feed Momo and Appa." Toph said out of the blue.

Zuko took this as her pretending nothing was wrong. He appreciated it very much. He didn't want anyone else knowing what was going on today. He looked up at Katara and saw the confusion on her face from Toph's behavior.

"I think she's pretending like nothing's happening today." He answered her silent question.

"Oh, I guess so."

Katara looked at Zuko. He never noticed how deep her eyes were. There was so much love and compassion behind her brilliant blue eyes. He could stare into them all day, and never got bored he realized.

"Zuko, are you sure you're going to be ok today?"

"Katara, don't worry about me, I'm going to be fine. I have been through this day three times, and I've found that each year it gets a little better." He answered honestly.

She grabbed him in a bone crushing hug, and he returned it. He wished he wouldn't have told her what happened to Salji. Now she was holding the burden of trying to make sure he didn't get upset all day. She finally pulled away from him.

"I better go make breakfast for everyone. Would you like to help?" she asked.

"Umm… I'm not a very good cook." He said flatly.

"Oh, ok." She got up to leave, but he grabbed her wrist.

"Thank you Katara."

"For what?" she asked confused.

"For everything. For forgiving me, for excepting me into your group, and for helping me through this." He finished with a small smile.

She returned the smile. "You're welcome Zuko."

He let go of her wrist, and she walked towards the door. Before she walked out she said, "And you're not just a part of the group, you're a part of the family." She gave him a huge smile.

He smiled back just as big. He never thought of himself as a part of the family. He thought they just took him in as Aang's firebending teacher, but Katara saying this made feel good. Ever since his mom disappeared, he felt like the only family he had was his uncle, and he didn't even know if he was live or not. He had felt alone without his uncle, but now knowing that the group considered him as family, he felt almost whole again.

He got up off the bed and hugged Katara again. When he let go of her he saw the biggest smile playing across her face, and he couldn't help but to smile back. Then she was off to make breakfast for everyone. Zuko shut the door and leaned up against it. How was it possible that Katara could make him smile so much on the day that should be the saddest?

He went to his bathroom to clean up for breakfast. He pulled on his shirt and brushed his teeth. When he felt he was presentable he made his way down stairs. Everyone was in the kitchen already eating. Zuko took his spot at the table and looked into the bowl that's was sitting in front of him.

It was fresh berry and leachy-nut stew. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes. The last time he had this was three years ago to the day. It was Salji's favorite breakfast, and she ate it every morning. Zuko could never understand how she could eat it every morning and not get sick of it. But that was Salji for you, she always did what was least expected.

He could feel two pairs of eyes on him. He looked up and saw Toph and Katara staring at him assessing what was about to happen. He gave them a small smile in reissuance, and they looked at him a little longer then turned away.

He knew that this is how it was going to be for the rest of the day. He knew that every movement, every facial expression, and every word was going to be analyzed, and that was what he was afraid of.

Soon everyone was through eating. Katara picked up all of the bowls and started to clean them, Toph sat at her chair digging something out from under her fingernail, Suki was humming a tune to herself, and Sokka looked like he was in deep thought.

"I'm bored!" Sokka said loud enough for the people at the North Pole to here.

"Well find something to do. Maybe you could help me clean the dishes, or wash the clothes." Katara suggested.

"No, I don't want to do that kind of stuff." He whined.

"Let's go into town and see if there is something to do!" Suki said.

It was decided that they were to go into town to find something that kept everyone occupied. They all had to go get dressed in their Fire Nation clothes, and then they would meet outside.

It didn't take Zuko long, because he always wore his regular clothes. And since nobody really knew who he was here, he didn't have to wear his bulky cloak. He liked walking around without anyone knowing who he was.

They all met outside and were on their way. They had to walk through dense forest for a while, and then the town came into view. They all decided that they would split up to cover more ground, and maybe find different suggestions faster. Sokka grabbed Suki's hand and they were off. Aang was about to ask Katara to go with him, but Toph grabbed his arm with lightning speed.

"Let's go Twinkle Toes." She said as she halled him off in the opposite direction.

So that left Zuko and Katara. He was secretly happy that Toph took Aang. He liked being around Katara, more than he should. He never let himself get close to anyone, but it was so easy to be around Katara. When he was with her, he felt like he wasn't being judged or watched. He could just be himself around her.

"So I guess that means we're partners." she stated bringing him out of thought. He looked down at her and saw a smile stretch across her face. She was happy to be with him too.

They walked into the courtyard in the middle of the small town. There were some people gathered around the fountain in it, and some waiting in line to buy groceries. Zuko and Katara walked around eavesdropping on some of the people's conversations, but found nothing of interest. Soon they ended up running into the others, and they found nothing either.

"Why don't we go to the beach?" Zuko said after he racked his brain trying to think of something to do.

"That sounds fun!" Suki agreed.

"To the beach!" Sokka said enthusiastically pointing his index finger in the air.

When they arrived at the beach there were like ten people there, so there was enough room for them to spread out and relax.

Sokka broke out a big beach towel for him and Suki to sit on and Toph was occupying Aang trying to teach him how to sandbend. Zuko walked over to the edge of the water and sat down in it. He patted the sand beside him for Katara to join him, and she did.

They sat there for a moment in silence as the waves rippled into their bodies. Zuko liked just sitting there with Katara. Nothing had to be said, and he enjoyed that. Katara had been one of his first friends, besides Toph, since Salji died. But it was a different friendship than the one he had with Toph. Toph was like his little sister, Katara was something more. He never let anyone get close enough to him for them to befriend him, but somehow Katara got past that. This made him feel like he was replacing Salji with Katara in some way. He didn't even realize that tears started to well up in his eyes.

"Zuko," Katara said in a soft voice, "are you ok?"

He looked over at her, and also saw a small tear escape from her eye. He didn't want to put Katara through pain. Seeing her like this made his heart hurt.

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine." He said with a sure voice.

She looked at him assessing if he was telling the truth or not, and apparently he passed because she let her gaze drop. He didn't like it when she didn't look at him, he loved looking into her eyes that he had come so accustomed to the past few days.

He put his hand under her chin and made her look into his eyes. "Are you going to be like this the rest of the day?"

"I just don't want to see you in pain Zuko. If there is any way I can stop it from happening, I will. When you're in pain, I'm in pain." She finished in a whisper.

"Well I never want to see you in pain, and I will never do anything to hurt you. So if seeing me in pain causes you to be in pain, then I'm going to be the happiest I can be" he finished with flashing her a broad smile.

"Zuko, it's not good to keep your feelings bottled up in side.

Zuko did have feelings bottled up inside. About Salji, his dad, his mom, his uncle, and many more, but he didn't want to worry Katara with them. He didn't want her to be in pain, never did he want her to be in pain.

Under the water Zuko intertwined his and Katara's fingers. "Katara, I'm ok, stop worrying so much."

Katara's face turned scarlet red across her cheekbones. The color was so beautiful on her. To the sudden color change in her face Zuko couldn't help but to smile. He also felt himself bush a little, but he couldn't figure out why.

"For some reason I don't believe you" she said shyly.

"Well you better" he said untwining their fingers, and picking Katara up as he stood.

"Zuko! What do you think you're doing!" she yelled.

He gave her a brilliant smile. "I'm being the happiest I can be."

Then he threw her into the water. She came back up to the surface panting for air.

"You're going to regret that." She said with a wicked smile.


	7. Chapter 7

**Ok, since it's been a while I decided to post another chapter!:) I really like this chapter because everything is starting to happen! Yay!**

**I do not own any of the Avatar characters, just Salji:)**

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After they returned to the house, everyone was exhausted. Although Katara felt like she could stay up longer because she didn't want this day to end. Everyone went to bed, but Katara and Zuko continued to sit on the couch.

They talked about everything under the sun. They talked about their past, friends, and futures.

"After the war is over, I plan on getting married, and settling down, I guess." Katara said blushing a little.

This was the most she about her future. She never really thought more than a day ahead. She really didn't want to think past the next day because she didn't know if she was going to see the next day. Sure she hoped that they were going to make through this war and be able to have a future, but she knew that there was always that chance that they wouldn't make it. She just wanted to live in the moment and hope for tomorrow.

"That sounds very… practical" he said with a small chuckle.

"Well what do you expect me to do? Go into the underground waterbending alliance?" she didn't even know what that was.

"I guess not."

"What about you?" she asked not sure if she really wanted to know or not.

"Well, I guess I'm going back to the Fire Nation to take my place at the thrown." He said in an almost sad voice.

"Oh."

She knew that this was going to be his answer, but she didn't want to come to terms with it. She knew that he was going back to the Fire Nation, and she knew that she was probably going back to the Southern Water Tribe, but hearing it made it worse. Today had changed everything. She realized that she had more feelings towards Zuko than she thought at first.

"Yeah, I need to fix what the Fire Nation has done over the past century. It won't be easy, but it's my destiny." He said giving her a warm smile. She couldn't help but to return it.

"I'm happy that you found your way Zuko."

He didn't say anything for a few moments, and then he broke the silence. "I wish my uncle was here."

"You really miss him, don't you?"

"He was like the father I should have had. He was always there for me giving me support, and I just turned my back on him. I'm a terrible person." He hung his head, and Katara saw tears falling into his lap. She cupped his face with her hand, and made him look into her eyes.

"Zuko, you are not a terrible person. You just lost yourself, but now you have found yourself and you are fulfilling your destiny. Your uncle would be so proud of you. I know he would."

"He shouldn't be proud of me. I've hurt him to many times to count. He should hate me." he said as he pulled Katara's hand off of his face and held it in his.

"If he knew that you were here helping Aang master firebending, I'm pretty sure that he would be proud of you Zuko. He loves you, and when you love someone no matter how many times they mess up, you still love them just as much."

Zuko looked at his and Katara's hands. He was absentmindedly rubbing circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. It sent shivers going up and down her spine. She let a shudder past her control.

"Are you cold?" he asked.

"A little." She said with a shy smile.

He leaned over towards her and wrapped his arms around her. She felt instantly warmer. Katara could feel her face becoming scarlet red, but she didn't care. Zuko was putting his arms around her. It was ten times better than just holding his hand. She shuddered again, and his grip tightened.

They sat there for an immeasurable amount of time. Katara didn't even realize that she was nodding off.

She woke up leaned up against Zuko's chest. He was humming an unfamiliar song. It radiated through his chest and made her want to go back to sleep. She shifted a little and Zuko stopped humming.

"Are you awake?" he asked.

"Mmmhmm" she said as she stretched her arms out in front of her. "What were you just humming?"

"It's a song called "_Leaves from the Vine". _Uncle used to sing it to me when I was young, and when he was gone at war, my mom would." He answered as he played with her hair in his fingers.

"Oh. I liked it." She said with small smile. He smiled back at her. She loved his smile.

"It's my favorite song. It reminds me of my mom. I miss her." he said as he dropped his hand from Katara's head.

"I miss my mom too."

They sat there in silence. Zuko started to play with her hair again, and Katara could feel her eyelids slowly closing. Then she let out a yawn.

"I guess we should be going to bed" Zuko said.

"It is pretty late" she said in agreement.

He let go of her and they both got up off the couch. She stuck out her hand and he grabbed it in response. It felt so natural to her to be with Zuko like this. It was like nothing she had ever felt before. They walked up the stairs and Katara tried to take her time on each step. She didn't want Zuko to go to his room, she wanted for this day to last forever. But then they approached her door.

She turned around to tell Zuko good night, but was caught off guard with his expression. It was as if he was set aflame. There was an intensity in his eyes that sent a shiver up her spine. She felt kind of wobbly on her feet.

"Umm… good night Zuko." She said kind of dizzily.

His face turned back to it old stature and he replied "Good night Katara"

Then he did something that Katara least expected. It all happened in slow-motion. He leaned down and pressed his lips lightly to her forehead. Katara could feel her face turning beat red, and closed her eyes. When he finally pulled back a huge smile broke across his face.

"Sweet dreams." And with that he turned to go to his room.

Katara was stunned. _He kissed me! Why did he kiss me? Sure it was only on the forehead, but does it mean something? _These questions ran through her head as she slowly made her way through the door to her bedroom. She was utterly stunned. At first the thought that maybe she just imagined it, but she knew she didn't.

When she made it to her bed, she sat on it trying to collect her thoughts. Her heart was beating so fast, she thought it might just jump out of her chest. There was no way she was going to be able to go to sleep now.

As she laid there she kept replaying the whole evening in her head. The thought from earlier came to her mind. She did have more than just friendly feelings towards Zuko. Then a whole slew of questions came into her mind. _Does he like me back? Is that why he kissed me, or was he just being nice? Do I tell him that I have these feelings? Or does he make the first move?_ She stayed up for a few more hours trying to decipher what was going on.


	8. Chapter 8

**Another chapter! 3 in two days! Whhhhoooo whoooooo! :) I was listening to _Overboard _by Justin Bieber when I was writing this, and this chapter reflects it a lot I think!**

**I don't own any of the ATLA characters! Except Salji, she is my creation:)**

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The sun was rising. Zuko hadn't gone to sleep all night. He was confused by what happened last night between him and Katara. When he walked Katara to her room last night, holding her hand, he had started to think, and before he knew it, he kissed her on the forehead. He was thinking that maybe he could be happy with Katara. But as he was thinking this he felt like he was betraying Salji. He realized last night that he did have feelings for Katara, but he was so worried about forgetting Salji that he didn't realize it. _Why did everything have to be so complicated? Why did Salji have to die? Why did his dad banish him?_ All of these questions were flying through his head, when there was a soft _tap, tap_ on his door.

"Come in."

Katara poked her head in. "Hey" she said in a soft voice. He looked at her wondering what on earth she was doing up so early. "I couldn't go to sleep at all. Do you mind if I come in and talk?" she asked.

"Sure" he said, his voice cracking in a weird way. Katara giggled as she walked into his room and sat down at the end of the bed.

"I couldn't sleep either." he said with a raspy voice. "What do you want to talk about?"

"How are you holding up?" She said in a small voice.

"I'm ok. I would probably be worse off if it wasn't for you and all your help"

"Well I guess my maternal instincts came in handy for something" as she said this a smile spread across her face.

Zuko couldn't help but to smile back. "You maternal instincts were very helpful"

She giggled. Zuko saw the blush spread across her face before she looked down at her hands to hide it. He put his index finger under her chin and pulled it us so she was looking his in the eyes.

"Don't ever hide your face from me." he said with a teasing smile. To this she bushed even more.

"Why?"

"Because I feel like I just got your trust, and when you don't look me in the eye, I feel like I'm losing it." He lied. He knew the real reason he never wanted her to look away from him.

They sat there in silence and watched the sun finish rising for the next few minutes. Katara scooted a little closer to him and he held out his hand for hers. She eagerly took it and intertwined their fingers. He looked at her and saw a huge grin spread across her face. She was breathtaking when she smiled like that. He couldn't help but smile back just a big.

He looked back out the window and watched the sun rise. After a few minutes he saw Katara's eyes start to close slowly from sleep deprivation. He pulled her close to him and laid back on the bed. When her breathing slowed and he traced her features with the lightest touch he could manage.

He started at her left ear, then her left eye, and then her left cheek. He imagined her having a scar like his, and he shuddered from the thought. Then he slowly slid his fingers over her right eye, down her cheek, over her mouth, and finally stopped on her neck. This is where he remembered all of Slaji's scars being. He could even try to think of Katara with those scars, because he knew he was the reason for those scars. If he could have only gotten to Salji sooner, she would be in his arms right now.

But he knew that he couldn't change the past, and he kind of like where he was going with Katara. He did have more than just friendly feelings towards her, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to tell her. The only other person he had let himself get close like this was Salji, and he wasn't ready to move on yet. He knew that Katara had some feelings for him too, but he didn't know how deep they were, and he hated stringing her along, but he's just not ready.

The next thing he knew Katara was trying to shift out of his arms. He instinctively tightened his grip on her. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I've got to go start making breakfast before everyone wakes up" She said as she stretched.

"Oh"

She got up off the bed and leaned down to his face and kissed him on the cheek. Zuko could feel his cheeks turn red. When she pulled back he saw that her cheeks too were stained red.

"Well… ummm… I guess I should go" she said as she turned to leave the room.

"Uh, yeah. I'll be downstairs in a little bit." He said with a small smile playing at his lips.

When she shut the door he was still smiling as big as he could. Katara just made his day. He hurriedly got ready for the day. The longer he was away from Katara he got more and more anxious. Soon he was practically sprinting down the stairs.

Nobody was out of bed yet, so only Katara occupied the kitchen. She was humming a soft tune, and after a few minutes of listening Zuko realized that it was the song he was humming to her last night. This brought a soft smile to his mouth as he entered the kitchen.

"It smells good." He said as he walked over to her. Apparently she didn't hear her enter the room and he startled her and made her drop an egg on the floor.

"Zuko, you scared me." She said as she dropped to the floor to clean up the egg. He also leaned down to help her.

After the floor was clean everyone started to wake up and come down for breakfast. Soon they were all eating and talking.

"I say we go back to the beach today" Sokka said with his mouth full.

"It sounds good to me" Zuko said. He looked over at Katara and gave her a big smile. Her cheeks were splashed with red and she looked down at her hands. Then Zuko looked over at Aang. His face was red and it looked like he was about to explode, but Zuko didn't pay any mind to why the monk looked like this.

Then they were off to the beach. If it was even possible today was even prettier than yesterday. Zuko and Katara set at the edge of the beach just like they did yesterday with their hands intertwined under the waves. Zuko loved the way Katara's hand felt in his, and he loved the way she felt in his arms this morning. He wanted to hold her hand all the time, but he knew that the rest of the house would not agree with is feelings, especially Sokka and Aang. Aang loved Katara, and didn't hide his feelings, then there was Sokka, the over protective brother. He knew that Sokka would never like the idea of Zuko liking his baby sister, and Aang would do anything to get Katara.

But it was obvious that Katara had feelings for Zuko too. The way she looked at him and she never rejected him when he held out his hand for hers, and the fact that she kissed him on the cheek this morning. Zuko wanted more than just a peck on the cheek. He wanted to kiss Katara, and he wondered if she would want to also. He wondered what it would feel like to have his lips pressed against hers…

"Zuko? Hello?" Katara said impatiently.

"Huh?"

"Why do you keep on zoning out like that?" she asked, "Are you thinking about Salji?" she said in a low whisper.

"No, I was actually thinking about this morning." He said blushing a little.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that kiss. It just sort of happened" she said shyly, her face flushing red.

"Don't be sorry. It was really nice" he said with a small smile.

They looked into each other's eyes and Zuko knew that this was the time; he was going to find out what it would feel like to kiss Katara. Then his eyes caught someone on the beach past Katara's head.

She had raven-black hair and pale skin. She had the characteristics of everyone in the Fire Nation. But when she turned around her face was mark with what seemed to be claw marks. Zuko had the eerie feeling that he knew this girl from somewhere. He looked even closer and looked past her scares. Could it be? He jumped up and started running over to the girl.

"Salji?" his voice was full of hope.

"Yes, do I know you?" she said confused.

Zuko embraced her as hard as he could. He couldn't believe it. It was Salji! This was impossible, his uncle told him she died 3 years ago. He thought at one point maybe this was a dream, but he didn't care, he just wanted to hold her like this forever.

"Ummm… excuse me." She said gasping for breath he was holding her so tight.

"Salji! I can't believe you're alive!" he said hugging her even more fiercely.

"Do I know you?"

"Salji it's me Zuko." He said almost in tears.

"Zuko? That can't be. He died 3 years ago after his father dueled him to an Agni Kia."

"I didn't die Salji. My father banished me after the Agni Kia. My uncle told me you died, how are you alive. When I was carrying you back to the palace you were barely holding on by a thread." He asked tears freely flowing down his face.

Then Salji was on top of him crushing him to the ground in a big hug.

"I don't know. I was out for like a month and when I came to, I asked for you and that's when Azula told me that your father killed you." Tears were also falling down her face by now. "I cried for 4 weeks straight. I couldn't believe it. My world was torn apart when Azula told me. I would just sit in my room murmuring 'Azula always lies' trying to console myself." She hugged him even harder. "I can't believe it! I've missed you so much Zuko!"

"I've missed you so much too. Not one day went without me thinking about you." he said between sobs at this point. "I love you Salji" he said in a small whisper.

"I love you too" she said wiping her tears on the sleeve of her shirt.

Zuko leaned back and looked at her face. It was marred with huge scars. Four scrapes across her right eye, three across her mouth, one on her chin, three across her left cheek, and four on her neck. He was sure there were more coved up by her clothes. She looked even more beautiful than he remembered, even with the scars.

Her hair was pulled up in a side pony tail on top of her head, with her bangs freely hanging down her face covered in sand. Her eyes were just as stunning as they were three years ago, gold with a hint of blue near the pupil. He could just lay there in the sand all day and stare into her eyes.

Salji raised her hand and touched his scar. He closed his eyes and they sat there for what felt like an eternity.

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**Now was that crazy or what? Salji is back from the dead! Yay! Keep reading and review:)))**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:) I have to say that I am very proud of this chapter, it's one of my favorites! I have decided that I am going to get into a habbit of uploading every Saturday, so be looking out for new chapters!:)**

**I hope you like this chapter!**

**I do not own any ATLA characters. However, Salji is my mine:)**

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Katara watched as this random girl tackled Zuko to the ground. What exactly what she think she was doing? Zuko was about to kiss Katara and he just jumps up and runs into another girls arms? Why?

She started to get up and go see what was going on when she saw Zuko start to kiss the girl! Katara was enraged. Why was he kissing this stranger when he was just about to kiss her? She looked closer and saw that he was kissing the scars that covered her face. Katara just couldn't figure out what was going on with this picture.

She got up on her feet. She was going to ask Zuko what in the world was going on. When she made it over to them, Zuko didn't even look up, he just stayed where he was staring intensely into this girl's eyes.

"Uh, Zuko?" she said a little embarrassed.

"Hmmm…" he said as if he was being woken from a dream. He glanced up and saw Katara's face. "Oh, Katara! Look who it is! It's Salji!"

Katara's jaw dropped. It couldn't be the girl that Zuko said died three years ago. It couldn't be his long lost love. She just stared at the girl that was in Zuko's arms with disbelief.

"Hi, I'm Salji" the girl said with a huge grin on her face. She turned to Zuko and asked, "Who is this pretty girl?"

"Oh, this is Katara. She's my friend." He said in a cheerful tone.

This sentence was like a dagger in Katara's heart. They almost kissed and now he was saying they were just friends. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, but she forced them back.

Katara opened her mouth to say something, but nothing would come out. She was so heartbroken that she lost her voice in all the emotions. So she turned on her heels and ran away before either of the two people lying on the ground could see her tears.

She heard Sokka trying to stop her, but she just kept running. She didn't want to go back to the house so she ran off into the forest. She kept running until she made it to a little meadow in the woods. She dropped onto her hands and knees and sobbed. Her chest hurt from running while crying. She let in deep breaths and tried to slow her breathing, but she couldn't. Every time she finally got her breathing close to normal she would think about Salji in Zuko's arms and it would bring on fresh tears.

She looked up at the sun, it was right above her. She heard her stomach growl, but paid it no mind, she didn't want to eat. As she got up, she had to clutch on to the sides of her ribs. She felt as if she let go, then she would fall apart.

When she got back to the house everyone was back except Zuko, and Katara was secretly glad that he wasn't. She didn't want him to see her like this. Everyone asked what was wrong, but Katara just shook her head and walked into the kitchen. She made lunch and served everyone with a blank face.

They were all eating so Katara decided that this was a good time to escape to her room. As she started up the stairs someone grabbed her arm. She turned around to see Aang's big gray eyes staring back at her.

"What do you want Aang?" She asked trying to keep her face unemotional. If she faltered she knew that she wouldn't be able to keep herself from falling apart.

"What happened today Katara?"

"Nothing happened, I just needed some time to myself, that's all."

"I know you are lying Katara."

"I'm not lying." She said stubbornly. _Why can't he let this go?_

"Katara, you ran away from the beach crying today. I just want to help."

"Nothing happened. Just drop it Aang." She said as she tried again to go to her room, but Aang's grip was tight around her forearm.

"He hurt you didn't he?" He asked through clinched teeth.

His body coiled and his grip on her arm tightened. Katara could tell he was furious. She didn't want him to do anything irrational to Zuko, so she had to defend him.

"Zuko didn't do anything." She answered, and she could feel the tears rising up in her eyes.

Apparently Aang took notice to the tears and let go of her. He balled up his fists and said, "I'm going to kill him." He turned around and started out the door when Katara grabbed his hand.

"Aang, it's not his fault." She bowed her head, "It's mine." She finished in a whisper.

"What do you mean?" he asked puzzled.

She told him what had all happened on the beach-leaving out that the girl was Salji-and when she was finished she could tell he was holding back tears. _Why is he crying? I'm the one with the problem, not him _she thought to herself.

"Are you ok Aang?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just mad that he hurt you like that." He once again balled up his fists. "He shouldn't have hurt you like that. I'm going to make him pay."

"Aang, it's not his fault, its mine. Don't do anything, I've got it under control." And with that she was climbing the stairs. She turned around mid-step and said, "and I would appreciate it if you didn't say a word about this to anyone else."

She made it to her room before she let the tears overwhelm her. She let the sobs wrack through her body as she made it to her bed. When she made it to her bed she curled up in a ball and just cried. She laid there for what felt like hours just crying.

Everyone had tried to come and talk her into talking about it, so she knew that Aang had done what she said. Suki tried twice, Toph five times, and Sokka was working on his eighth. Sure she could tell Toph because she knew about the whole Salji thing, but she didn't want anyone knowing how she had been played.

If she would have known that there was a possibility that Salji could show up, then she would have never let her feelings for Zuko get this far. But she had, and now she was heartbroken. There was a huge banging sound from her door that brought her out of thought.

"Katara, please let me in!" her brother yelled from the other side of the door. About an hour ago she decided that telling them to go away wasn't going to work, so she just sat there silent.

A few moments passed and there was another loud bang on her door and the sound of Sokka yelping in pain. He must have hit his foot up against the door and hurt himself. Katara didn't pay any mind though, she could barely hear over her sobs anyways.

A couple of minutes passed after Sokka had hurt himself, and Katara thought that maybe they had all given up, but she was wrong. All of a sudden her door fell to the ground and Sokka was on the other side with a huge smile and a screwdriver in his hand.

"YES! I got in!" he said as he pointed the screwdriver in the air proud of his accomplishment.

"Get out Sokka!" Katara yelled through tears.

She bent the water from the plant sitting beside her bed and froze Sokka to the wall in the hallway. Then she pulled the tea from her cup that sat on her nightstand and froze the hinges back to the wall, and deliberately slammed the door. She heard Suki and Toph running upstairs and the sound of Sokka yelling at them to get him down.

She sat there trying to tune everything that was going on outside trying to figure out what she was going to do when Zuko got back. Katara knew that she wouldn't be able to look at him without becoming hysterical. But she couldn't avoid him forever. Sozin's Comet was arriving in four days, she would have to speak to him some time or another.

_You can't let him distract you from your job. You have to be strong for everyone. You have to help Aang bring balance to the world. You can't let him get to you_she told herself over and over again as she waited dreadfully for when they would have to talk.


	10. Chapter 10

**Ok, I am a day later than I promised, but here is chapter 10. It is my least favorite, but its needed. I hope it doesn't bore you to tears hahaha! And I would like to thank everyone that has read and reviewed! Your reviews have given me the motive to keep writing this story:) Thank you 1000000000000000 times 2!**

**I do not own any ATLA characters, but Salji is all mine!**

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Zuko walked across the beach on his way back to the house. As he did so, he replayed what happened on the beach in his head.

"_Is she ok?" Salji asked Zuko after Katara ran away._

"_Yeah, I'm sure she's fine"_

"_She doesn't look it Zuko. Maybe you should go see what's wrong." Salji said with an encouraging voice._

"_Will you come with me?"_

"_I don't think that would be a good idea Zuko." By this time they were standing up. "I think you need to talk to her by yourself."_

_Zuko didn't understand why she was being like this. "I'm not leaving you. I just found you three years after being told that you were dead. I'm never leaving your side again." He said with the threat of tears rising in his voice._

"_Zuko, I'm not going anywhere. I just found you too and I'm not going anywhere."_

"_Will you at least come to the house with me?" he asked._

"_No, you need to go talk to Katara, and me being there will probably make things worse."_

"_Why would you being there make it worse?" he was puzzled._

_She looked into Zuko's eyes. "Zuko, that girl cares for you a lot. I can tell by the way she looked at you, and seeing us like this probably upset her. Me being there wouldn't help in any way. I'm going to go to my house and try to wash some of this sand off me." She said with a smile tugging at her lips. "Let's meet here at sun set, after you've talked to Katara."_

"_I don't want to be away from you."_

"_Zuko, I will still be here when you come back. Go and talk to Katara." After she said this she kissed Zuko on the cheek, and left._

He didn't know what to do. He didn't go back to the house right away because he needed some time to think. He walked around the beach trying to figure out what happened today.

"Hey Sokka, have you seen Katara?" Zuko asked as he entered the house.

"Yeah, she ran up to her room crying. I tried to ask what was the matter and she froze me to the wall. Suki just freed me."

"Thanks." Zuko said as he ran up the stairs.

Zuko knew that Katara had feelings for him. They almost kissed, when he jumped up and ran to Salji, of course she was upset. He didn't know what he was going to say to her when he got to her room, so he softly knocked and hoped something would come to him.

"GO AWAY!" she yelled from inside the room. Zuko could hear that she was crying.

"Katara, it's me, Zuko."

"GO AWAY!" she yelled again.

"Katara, I just want to talk. Will you please let me in?" he asked in a pleading voice.

"I don't want to talk to you Zuko. Go and talk to Salji, I'm sure ya'll have a lot of catching up to do."

"Katara, I need to talk to you. Please open up."

Zuko stood there and waited for her to yell at him to go away, but then the door opened. Katara stood there with tears running down her face, her eyes all puffy and red. Zuko quickly grabbed her and hugged her. He hated to see her in so much pain, and knowing that he was the one who had inflicted it on her. He remembered their conversation from yesterday. _**I promise I will never do anything to hurt you.**_

And now he stood there holding Katara realizing that he had hurt her in the worst possible way.

"Katara, I'm so sorry" was all he could say.

"Don't be sorry Zuko. The girl you loved and thought was dead just showed up, I understand." She said against his chest.

"I promised I would never hurt you, and here I am hurting you. I can't just turn away and pretend that I don't notice."

Katara collapsed and fell to the floor. Zuko picked her up and carried her to the bed. He knew that she didn't get a lot of sleep last night and that she was in a lot of pain. He laid her on the bed and sat beside her stroking her hair.

"You really do love her don't you?" she said suddenly.

Zuko didn't want to answer this question. He knew telling her the truth would only hurt her more than she already was.

They just sat there in silence. Then Katara jumped up. Zuko was wondering what in the world she was doing.

"Where are you going Katara?"

"I've got to go make supper for everyone. Just because this happened doesn't mean that I can let everyone go hungry." She started to walk to the door when Zuko grabbed her arm.

"Katara you can't avoid me forever" he said in a small voice.

She just jerked her arm away and started walking out of the room. Zuko just sat there hoping that she would turn around and come back into his arms. But she never did.

"What have I done?" he murmured to himself.

He looked out the window and realized it was past sun set. He jumped up off the bed and made his way down the stairs. He gave Katara a small smile before he walked out the door. She didn't return it.

As he made his way to the beach he couldn't help but to think about Katara. He loved Salji, but he also had feelings for Katara. He was just about to kiss her and all of a sudden Salji shows up. What were the odds of that happening? The universe must be playing a sick joke on him.

Then he saw Salji. She was standing there waiting for him to show up. She was wearing a beautiful red dress with pink accents. Zuko looked at her and his breath was taken away.

"Your late" she said in a playful voice.

"I know" he said smiling at her.

"Did you get things worked out with Katara?"

"No." he said in a sadden voice.

"I'm sorry Zuko, it's all my fault that she's upset." She said looking down at the sand.

"No Salji, it's not your fault. It's mine."

She looked into Zuko's eyes. She could tell he was in pain about hurting his friend. She didn't know how she could help, but she had to try.

"Zuko, do you love her?" she asked.

Zuko couldn't answer this question, just the same as he couldn't when Katara asked. So they just sat there looking into each other's eyes. Why was it so hard? He had feelings for both girls, but he couldn't choose which one he had more feelings for. Salji had been missing out of his life for three years and yet he had the same feelings for her that he had for her back then. Then there was Katara. They had really just met, and she was the first person he told about Salji, so they bonded over that. And he could tell that she had strong feelings for him. But Salji said that she loved him back. Dear Sages, what was he going to do?

"Zuko I can tell you have strong feelings for this girl" Salji said, bringing him out of thought. "And even though I love you, I will give you up if you love Katara more." She said in a small voice.

"Salji, I love you. I've loved you since we were young, and I never got to tell you. I spent the past three years trying to get over you and try to be happy, but I couldn't. And now I have found you and you're telling me that you would give me up just like that?" he was confused.

"Zuko, I love you too, and that's why I can give you up. It won't be easy, but if you love this girl then I don't want to keep you away from her. I went through the same thing you did, I thought I lost you before I could tell you I loved you too. But now that I've found you and it's obvious that you and Katara have strong feelings for each other, I think I can let you go."

Zuko took her hands in his and couldn't believe what she was saying. After years of thinking she was dead he couldn't just leave her. He loved her for crying out loud!

"Salji I love you" he said in a whisper. "I'm never going to let you go."


	11. Chapter 11

**Here is chapter 11:) It is the shortest chapter so far, but I was having a little trouble trying to write it correctly. I hope it answers all of your questions:))**

**I do not own ATLA or any of the characters, except for Salji!**

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He was standing on the beach. The sea breeze was whipping in his face. He heard a girl scream.

"_**ZUKO! HELP ME!"**_

_**He turned around to see Salji being mauled by a Mongoose Dragon. He tried using his firebending to get the animal off of her, but he couldn't make any fire appear. He was running towards her when he heard another scream.**_

"_**ZUKO!" the voice yelled in pain**_

_**He turned and saw Katara tied to a tree. It looked like the tree he tied her to many months ago but this one was on fire. She tried to wiggle free of the ropes, but that only made it worse.**_

_**Zuko was closer to Salji, but he couldn't let Katara burn. **_

"_**ZUKO" both girls screamed in unison.**_

He woke up drenched in sweat. He looked around and realized that he was in his room. The sun just started to rise and Momo was curled up in a ball at the foot of his bed.

Zuko got up and put on his shirt. He had to go see how Katara was doing. As he walked to Katara's bed room he couldn't help but to think of the horrendous dream he just had. Katara set aflame, because he tied her to the tree, and Salji being mauled because he ran off without making sure she was right behind him.

He made it to Katara's door and opened it and inch. He peered into her room and saw her strode across her bed. Her hair was lying all around her and she looked as if she cried all night. This site gave him a small smile.

He walked into her room and sat on her bed. She stirred in her sleep a little but did not wake. He started to slowly stroke her hair. As he did this he replayed his dream over and over again in his head. If it was reality, who would he have saved?

Salji had really been attacked, and he had already let her down, but seeing Katara burning was a horrific site. As he thought of this a small tear escaped from his good eye, and dropped on Katara's face.

"Hmmm..." she said as she woke up. As she rubbed her eyes she saw Zuko sitting there on her bed. "What are you doing here?" she asked

"Just thinking."

"About what?" she asked half asleep.

"About this dream I had, it was awful." She said sullenly.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, I'm ok. Go back to sleep." He kissed her on the forehead and started for the door when Katara grabbed his arm.

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?" he asked.

"Give me hope that you'll maybe pick me and then go and see Salji." she said almost in tears.

Zuko grabbed her and hugged her. "I'm sorry that I'm putting you through this Katara."

"I can't wait forever Zuko. I do have strong feelings for you, but you can't expect me just to wait around until you decide that you love her more." She cried into his shoulder.

"Now Katara, who said I was going to pick her?"

"I can just tell by the way you look at her that you love her" she paused, "more than me."

"Don't say that Katara" he said looking down into her blue eyes. They were full of tears.

He couldn't stand putting her through this pain. He tilted Katara's head back and kissed her softly on the lips.

It was like he was set ablaze. The sensation of kissing Katara was mind blowing to him. Then they broke apart.

"Wow" was all that came out of Katara's mouth. She was surprised by what just happened.

"I think I know who I love more" he said with a smile stretching from ear to ear.

He knew that he had chosen Katara a long time ago but he hadn't come to terms with it. But now that he fully embraced it, he was the happiest he has ever felt.

Katara blushed and Zuko leaned in for another kiss. This one was more passionate, he held her close against him and she twined her fingers in his hair. Finally they broke apart, both with huge smiles splayed across their faces.

"Sokka's not going to like this" Katara said with a giggle.

"Neither is Aang." He said smiling back.

"Does Salji know that you picked me?" she asked hesitantly.

"No, we talked about the possibility of me picking you last night and she said as long as I'm happy she would be too."

"Oh" she said with a blush. She was surprised that they talked about him picking her.

"Yeah, I think she will be happy that I realized my feelings for you."

"Do you really think so?" Katara asked.

"I'm pretty positive that she will, that's just how Salji is" he said with a smile creeping across his face.

He then put his hand on Katara's cheek and kissed her again. When they pulled apart, they just stood there and smiled at each other for the longest time looking at each other. But the moment had to end.

"I better go make breakfast for everyone" Katara didn't want to leave but she knew her brother would be wondering why breakfasted hadn't been made.

"Do you need help?"

"I thought you didn't cook." She said in a playful tone.

"I said I wasn't good a cooking, I said nothing about not cooking" he said with a big grin on his face.

"Well, I don't think Sokka would appreciate you cooking his food if you're that terrible of a cook. You can just stand there and watch"

"That sounds good" he said smugly

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**Ok, I totally know this chapter was lame... but I promise it will (hopefully) get loads better!  
Since its my Thanksgiving break I may post again some time this week:)**

**Thank you again to everyone who has been reading and reviewing!**

**Hope you have a great Thanksgiving!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Here is chapter 12! Again it is slow moving, but I promise it will get better! I would like to thank everyone that's been reviewing, and I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving:)  
And go check out my first oneshot _"Almost Missed Out" :)))_**

**I do not own ATLA or any of the characters except Salji**

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"WHAT! Ya'll are a COUPLE!" Sokka yelled at the top of his lungs.

He couldn't believe his little sister liked Sparky. This must be a cruel, twisted joke they were playing.

"Yes we are" Katara said proudly.

"Well good for you!" Suki said as she ran to give Katara a hug.

"Congratulations Sparky" Toph said punching Zuko in the arm.

"Umm… thanks Toph" he said while rubbing his arm where she punched him. There was going to be a bruise.

"WHAT? Why are you guys congratulating them?" Sokka said in an annoyed voice.

"Because it's good news" Katara said in a blunt voice.

"No its not" Aang mumbled so low no one could hear it.

He was the one who liked Katara first. She was the one who found him in the iceberg. She's the one that brought him back to life. She was supposed to love him, not Zuko. When did Katara even start to like Zuko? He thought that they were just friends, but apparently they were more than friends for a long time. Aang thought back to the morning that he saw Katara come out of Zuko's room, and it made him cringe.

Aang's thoughts were interrupted by Sokka.

"Well I guess I can't stop you two. Just don't be all kissy, kissy around me" Sokka blurted out.

Katara ran into her brothers arms. "Thank you for accepting this Sokka" she said with a wide smile.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" he said as his sister let go of him to go eat his breakfast.

Zuko came up behind Katara and wrapped his arms around her waist. He put his mouth right next to her ear and whispered, "I love you."

She turned her face and kissed him on his cheek, and whispered, "I love you too."

Aang saw this and had to get away from all of this. He started out the door and someone put their hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Katara was standing behind him.

"Aang, are you ok?" she ask.

"NO! I'm not ok. The girl I love has fallen for someone else!" he yelled in her face.

"Aang, I'm sorry. I-"

"Katara don't even try to explain anything to me." He turned and started out the door again when a firmer hand grabbed his shoulder. He turned and saw Zuko.

"What do you want Zuko?"

"I'm sorry that you love Katara and that she doesn't love you back like that, but I will not have you being crude to her." He said in a strong voice.

Aang looked around to see Katara but she wasn't there.

"Where did she go?" he asked puzzled.

"She went running to her room crying from what you said." Zuko said grimacing. He felt like he would slap Aang, but he knew that would only upset Katara more.

"I didn't mean to upset her," Aang said in a small voice, "I was just mad, and I took my anger out on her."

"Well you need to learn to keep your mouth shut." Sokka said coming down the stairs. "Now she won't come out of her room. Good going Aang."

Aang was about to head for the stairs when Zuko pushed him back. "I'm sure you're the last person she wants to talk to." And with that he ran up the stairs.

When Zuko got to Katara's door he saw Suki and Toph trying to get her to open the door for them. They gave him the, "Maybe you could try" look and started down the stairs.

"Katara, it's me, Zuko. Will you please open the door for me?"

He heard a couple of footsteps and the door swung open revealing Katara with puffy red eyes and tears just pouring down her face. Zuko quickly picked her up in a hug, and shut the door with his foot.

As he moved her to the bed she sobbed into his shoulder saying, "Zuk-ko… I… didn't want-t… to hurt… him-m."

"Shhhh… I know, I know" he said to her soothingly.

"I didn't even know, I just thought it was a little crush, and that he would get over it. I didn't know he loved me." She said wiping the tears from her face.

"It's going to be ok Katara. He'll just have to get over it."

"No it's not ok Zuko. He hates me."

"He doesn't hate you Katara. If there is anyone he should hate, it should be me." He said in a small voice.

"Why should he hate you?"

"Oh, well I don't know. Maybe the fact that I took the girl he loved from him, or the fact that I yelled at him for making you cry."

"ZUKO! How could you do that? He had a right to yell at me!" she yelled. "I broke his heart." She finished in a whisper.

"Katara, you didn't intentionally break his heart. He had feelings for you that you didn't have for him, it happens to everyone. Don't blame yourself. He'll get over it."

"How do you know?" she asked.

"I just do." He said matter of factly.

"Ok," She said wiping away her tears. "He'll get over it" she murmured to herself.

"Do you want to go back down stairs?" he asked hesitantly.

"Sure"

As Katara got up off the bed, Zuko grabbed her hands, looked into her eyes, and whispered "I love you."

"I love you too" she said with a smile.

When they went back down stairs Aang was nowhere to be seen. Zuko assumed that he must have needed time alone after his little outburst.

"Are you ok Katara?" Sokka asked as they walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm ok" she said in a non reassuring voice. "Where's Aang?"

"He took off on his glider after Zuko got in his face" Toph said from the corner of the kitchen.

"Zuko, you shouldn't have done that. I can take care of myself."

"I couldn't just stand there and watch him hurt you like that! I promised that I would never hurt you, and just standing there watching Aang yell at you like that, I was hurting you." He said gritting his teeth.

"Zuko, it's ok. I'm ok." She said trying to calm him. She had never seen Zuko this mad before. She didn't like to see him like this.

Zuko didn't even care that everyone was in the room, he acted on impulse. He picked her up, and kissed her. This kiss was more passionate than any of their other kisses. Katara felt as if she was on fire. It was like his kiss was melting her to him. Then he slowly pulled back to see Katara blush. He loved the way the color looked on her.

"EWWWWWW! Get off my sister!" Sokka yelled.

"Shhhh" Suki said from beside him. "Let them have their moment."

Katara didn't even hear her brother's loud outburst. She stood on her tippy-toes and kissed Zuko again. Kissing him felt like they were the only people in the world and that they had forever to be like this, but when they broke apart they had to face the real world. She wanted to stay like this forever, but they couldn't.

When they finally broke apart, Katara looked into Zuko's eyes. They looked like they did the night that he had walked her to her room after talking all night. His eyes looked as if they were set ablaze. Another outburst from Sokka snapped them out of this moment.

"Could you guys take this somewhere else? I can feel my food coming up."

"Do you want to go for a walk on the beach?" Zuko asked with a crooked smile.

"Sounds great" Katara said returning the smile.

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**Thanks for reading, and if you would like press the review button:)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello everyone! Here is chapter 13:) Again very slow moving in my oppinion, but I have to have some Zutara fluff! I hope you like it! **

**I do not own ATLA or any of the charcters, except for Salji!**

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As they walked along the beach holding hands, Zuko knew that everything was going to work out between, Katara, Aang, and himself. Or at least Aang wouldn't be mad at Katara anymore soon. But he really didn't care if the little monk was mad at him, as long as he had Katara.

He looked over at Katara and saw her smiling. It felt so good to see her smile. He felt like ever since he figured out that he had feelings for her he had taken away her smile.

"What are you thinking about?" he had to know what she was smiling at.

"About that kiss in the kitchen" she said as she blushed.

"Oh" he felt himself blush.

They walked in silence after this. They saw a figure in the distance waving at them. As they kept walking the figure came into focus. This was going to be awkward.

"Zuko, Katara!" Salji said as she embraced them both. She was happy that Zuko had finally realized that he loved Katara.

"Hey Salji" Zuko said a little embarrassed.

"It's so good to see you two together. I knew it would happen one day" she said with a smile.

"How did you know we would be together?" Katara asked.

"Oh I just had a feeling." She said with a smile.

"Oh" Katara said smiling back.

"Well I guess I'll let you two love birds get back to your walk." She turned to Zuko. "I just wanted to see if you finally made up your mind to tell her" she smiled.

"Do you want to come back to the house and meet everyone?" Katara asked.

Salji replied "I wouldn't want to intrude."

"You wouldn't be intruding at all Salji. I'm sure everyone would love to meet you." Zuko said with a smile.

"Well I wouldn't want to disappoint everyone" she said sarcastically.

As they walked back towards the house Katara and Zuko filled in Salji on who everyone was.

"Ok, let me see if I got this right. Sokka is the sarcastic one who is always stuffing his face. Suki is Sokka's girlfriend and the one who tends to wear a lot of makeup. Aang is the bald flying monk A.K.A the Avatar. And Toph is the rude, blind earthbender, and I shouldn't take anything she says to heart."

"Very good" Zuko said smiling at her. He forgot how easily she caught on to things.

At this point they were entering the house. Everyone was in the living room except Aang. Katara wondered if he was still flying around, it was starting to get dark out.

"Hey everyone" Zuko said, "this is my old friend Salji."

Everyone turned around to greet her, and Zuko saw all of their eyes widen, except for Toph's, and he knew he should have giving them some kind of warning.

"Hi" Salji said from beside him. She seemed so comfortable.

Suki got up and walked towards them. "Hi, my name is Suki" she said as she hugged Salji. Zuko always liked how Suki was so nonjudgmental.

"Nice to meet you Suki" Salji said with a wide grin.

Toph got up off the floor and walked over towards them. "The names Toph" she said bluntly and punched Salji on the arm.

"Nice to meet you Toph" she said as she slowly rubbed her arm.

"And that guy over there drooling over you is my brother Sokka" Katara said pointing at Sokka.

Her saying this snapped Sokka out of his thoughts. "I can introduce myself Katara. Hello I'm Sokka, a warrior of the Southern Water Tribe." she said with a sly grin.

"Well I've always wanted to meet a skilled warrior" Salji said making Sokka's head bigger.

Zuko hated to stop Sokka's from flirting with Salji, but he thought he might be saving him from Suki's wrath later.

"Where's Aang?"

"He got back after you two left for the beach and ran into the barn." Toph answered.

"I better go and check on him" Katara said with guilt thick in her voice.

She started to leave the room when Zuko grabbed her and kissed her. "Come back soon" he whispered in her ear.

She nodded and walked out the door. This was going to tough, but she had to get it over with. As she opened the barn door, she saw Aang lying on Appa's tail petting Momo. He didn't even move an inch when she sat beside him.

"Hey Aang" she said hesitantly.

He turned around and his eyes were puffy and red, and Katara saw where the tears had fallen on his face. She didn't even realize that she started crying herself.

"Aang, I'm so sorry. I didn't want to hurt you, I thought it was just a crush, I didn't know you loved me. I love you too, but not that way." She said as the hot tears streamed silently down her face.

He didn't respond. Katara didn't know what else to say, she wanted to tell him that everything was going to be ok, but she couldn't promise him that. She would never love him the way he wanted her to, and she didn't even know if any of them were going to live till the end of the summer. In all of this commotion with Zuko, Katara forgot about their mission, they had to bring down the Fire Lord and Azula before Sozin's Comet arrived.

"Katara, do you really love him?" Aang's question brought her out of her thoughts.

"Yes Aang, I do love him" she answered. She thought that her answer would upset him, but he had to know.

They sat in silence again. She didn't know how he was taking it. His face was turned away from her so she couldn't see his expression.

Then he finally spoke. "Well I guess if you love him and he loves you then there's nothing I can really do except say I'm happy for you" he said turning towards her to give her a hug.

"Thank you Aang" she said crying happily into his shoulder.

They sat there like that for the longest time, and then Katara remembered the gathering that was going on in the house.

"There's someone you need to meet" she said with a huge smile spreading across her face

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**I don't know when the next time I update is going to be. Between school and my parents renovating the house there's a lot going on. But who knows, I may update next weekend. Who knows:)**

**While you wait to see if I return soon, go and look at my oneshot _"Almost Missed Out" :) _I am also working on a songfic, so be on the look out!**

**Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed! You guys are the ones keeping this fanfic alive and I thank you!:)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello readers!:) It has been a while since my last update, and I appologize. I hope you like this chapter! It is a little choppy and I don't like it very much, but I hope you will.**

**I do not own ATLA or any of the characters! Except Salji, she is mine:)**

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After Katara left to find Aang, everyone else got to know each other. They all talked about their childhoods and how they all came to know each other. Then Sokka asked how Salji got her scars.

"What scars?" Toph asked.

"I've got scars all over me Toph." She grabbed Toph's hand and put it on her face. "Four going down my eye, three across my left cheek, three across my mouth, one on my chin, and four on my neck." With each description she helped Toph trace her scars.

"Wow, what happened?" Toph asked.

"Well when Zuko and I were little I was attacked by a wild Mongoose Dragon" she said coolly.

Suki gasped, Sokka's jaw dropped, and Toph's hand dropped from Salji's face. They were all shocked; it showed on their faces.

"How did you survive?" Sokka asked.

"Zuko saved me." She looked over at him and gave him a soft smile, and he returned it.

"Wow Sparky, you took down a wild Mongoose Dragon?" Toph asked

"I didn't take it down, but I did burn it" he said with a smug smile.

They all sat there trying to image this story they were being told. It was so weird for them to hear about Zuko's past before he started hunting Aang.

"Yup, if it wasn't for Zuko I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you guys" Salji said with a wide grin.

Then Katara and Aang came through the door. Zuko looked at Katara to see if she was ok. She had a huge smile stretching from ear to ear. This made Zuko feel hopeful. He hoped that Aang would defeat his father, that he, himself could take down his sister, and that after all of this him and Katara could start their lives together. He hoped that this was a sign that everything was going to be alright.

"Salji, this is Aang. Aang this is Salji." Katara said as they sat down.

She sat beside Zuko and he wrapped his right arm around her and held her hand with his left. He looked into her eyes just to make sure everything was right, and she leaned forward and kissed him, and he knew that everything had been worked out.

"Nice to meet you Salji" Aang blushed.

"Nice to meet you too Aang" she smiled a shy grin.

"What have you guys been up to while we were gone?" Katara asked.

"Salji was just telling us how she got her scars." Sokka answered. "She got them from a wild Mongoose Dragon!"

"I know, Zuko told me the whole story" she said looking into Zuko's eyes. She knew how much pain he went through for Salji, but he picked her. It made her feel special. "It still surprises me that you're alive."

"Me too" Zuko chimed in.

"What are ya'll talking about?" Suki asked.

"Well I thought she died after she was attacked. After I brought her to the palace was when my dad dueled me to the Agni Kia that gave me this scar." He pointed at his face. "And after that I was banished, and my uncle was told she was dead. So for three years I thought she was dead, and then yesterday we met on the beach." He said with a smile.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Suki exclaimed.

"That really is amazing" Aang said in agreement.

"Is anyone else starving?" Sokka blurted out.

"Now that you say it, I am kind of hungry" Aang said. "I didn't get to finish my breakfast and I didn't eat any lunch." He said sort of embarrassed.

"Well I'll go and make us some dinner." Katara said as she got up.

"I'll help you" Salji said also getting up.

As they made their way into the kitchen they heard Sokka start a conversation in the living room about battle scars and Katara giggled.

"So, what are we going to make?" Salji asked

"Well I was planning on making Komodo Sausages with vegetarian Dumpling Soup, and for desert a Tart Pie." Katara answered.

"That sounds delicious!" Salji exclaimed. "What would you like me to do?"

"You can start on the Tart Pie, and I'll start making the Komodo Sausages." She said as she went to get the ingredients.

"Sounds good" Salji said.

As they cooked they talked. Salji told Katara how she had been living the past three years and that she was happy that she had found Zuko alive and in love.

"So you are happy?" Katara asked

"Yes I'm happy that Zuko found you. It's so obvious that he loves you. Sure I wonder how it would have been if we never got split apart, but I know that somehow he would have found you, because you're the one he's suppose to be with" she said as she waterbended some water into a pot.

It still amazed Katara that Salji was a waterbender. The only other waterbender she had met n the Fire Nation was Hama, but she was forced to live here. Salji grew up as a Fire Nation citizen, but was secretly half Water Tribe.

"I don't think that would have happened. If he didn't have to find Aang to restore his honor we would have never met." She said dryly.

"His father would have ended up banishing him even if we weren't split up. His father didn't like that Zuko refused to marry Mai because of me. His father would have banished him because I wasn't of any royal descent and that would show that Zuko wasn't loyal to his nation, as his father saw it. You and him would have met each other and would have fallen in love no matter what happened."

"Oh, I never thought of it like that. I just assumed that you and Zuko would have gotten married, had kids, and grown old together." Katara said in a soft voice.

"His father didn't see it like that" Salji whispered.

"I'm so sorry Salji" Katara said as she hugged her.

"It's ok Katara. Zuko and I apparently weren't meant to be together, he was meant to find you. And one day I will find the person that's meant for me" she said with a hopeful smile.

"I hope the same happens for Aang. He took me and Zuko being together really hard, I just hope he can find the right person for him."

"I'm sure he will" Salji said with a little blush.

"Foods ready!" Katara yelled.

Everyone came running into the kitchen. Katara didn't realize how hungry everyone was, and was instantly thankful that she made more food than she did usually. She took her seat by Zuko and started eating. As they ate the conversation flowed smoothly.

Soon everyone was stuffed and they all moved to the living room. Sokka and Suki sat on the love seat, Aang sat by Salji on the couch, Toph laid on the floor, and Zuko sat in the chair with Katara in his lap. They were all in little different conversations with each other. As Katara took in the scene before her, and it gave her hope that they would all make it no matter what happened with the Fire Lord.

Zuko interrupted her thoughts, "I think Salji and Aang like each other." He whispered in her ear.

"What makes you think that?" she whispered back.

"I don't know. Just the way they've been talking and the way they both blush when they look at each other and then the other one looks back at them…" he just kind of let the sentence hang.

"Well I guess they could like each other." She said indifferently.

"I hope they do." Zuko whispered back.

"Why?"

"Because Salji needs to find a good guy, and I think Aang would be perfect for her."

"Oh. I was kind of hoping that they might hit it off actually" Katara said truthfully.

"Really?" Zuko asked.

"Yeah, I was hoping that she might take the whole "us" thing off of his mind."

"Yeah, I guess that would help" he whispered with a small smile.

"Well I guess I better be getting home" Salji said, interrupting the small groups' conversations. "My mom's going to be worried sick about me if I'm not home soon" she said as she got up and stretched.

"Will we be seeing you again?" Aang asked worriedly.

"As long as I'm wanted I will be around." She said with a smile.

"You're welcome anytime, Salji" Zuko said.

"I'll walk you out."Aang said as he got to his feet.

"Bye everyone!" Salji said.

They all got up and hugged her good bye.

"Tell your mom I said, 'hi'" Zuko said as he hugged her.

"I will" she replied.

Salji and Aang made their way out the door. The night was cool and crisp. Little stars dotted the sky filled with the light of a full moon.

"I had fun tonight" Salji said.

"Me too, it was really nice to get to know you Salji" he said with a smile.

"Well I better be on my way" she said, not really wanting the night to end.

"Will you come back tomorrow?" Aang asked.

"If you want me to, I will."

"I would love for you to come back" he said grinning from ear to ear.

"Good night Aang" Salji said before she kissed him on the cheek.

Aang blushed a scarlet red. "Ummm… good night." he said smiling shyly.

With that Salji walked off of the porch and on to the road. Aang couldn't believe what just happened. Salji was beautiful, even though she was covered in scars. They were just a part of her, like Zuko's scar is a part of him. Aang walked back into the house hoping that what just happened wasn't all over his face.

"Why is your heart going 90 to nothing Twinkletoes?" Toph asked.

"It's not." Aang replied trying to sound normal.

"Quit lying Aang." She said indifferently.

"What happened out there Aang?" Sokka asked.

"She kissed me on the cheek" Aang could feel his face turning red.

The room erupted with "Oooo's" and "Awwww's". Aang looked over at Zuko to see what he thought about it. He had the biggest smile on his face, and Aang took that as a go ahead.

"Well it's late, I'm going to bed." Sokka announced.

"Yeah, it's been a long day. I'm ready to go to bed too." Katara agreed.

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**I hope you liked it! I will probably post another chapter this week since I am exempt from midterms:) Please read and review! Your reviews keep this story alive! **


	15. Chapter 15

**Well here is chapter 15! Geeze! I have no earthly idea how far this story is going, but it is turning into a beast! BahahahaHA! Well I hope you likey it:)**

**I would like to thank everyone who has stayed with this story through it's ups and downs, and I hope that you stay with it:)**

**Disclaimer: I am getting sick of typing it... So you know the drill**

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It had been a long day, and everyone was exhausted, emotionally and physically. Zuko grabbed Katara's hand as they started up the stairs. She loved the way his hand felt in hers. It was warm, and soft, but rough at the same time. When they got to her room, she assumed that he would kiss her good night, and be on his way, but he surprised her. He opened her door and walked right in, and sat on the bed.

He patted the spot beside him and said, "Would you like to come and sit with me?"

She moved to the bed and sat beside him. Apparently she didn't sit close enough because he picked her up and scooted her around in front of him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the neck.

"I think tonight went good" he said as he pushed her hair away from her face.

"Me too, Aang and Salji hit it off pretty well" she said smiling from ear to ear. She was excited that Aang had found someone and that he was on the road to happiness.

"Yes they did" he agreed as he kissed her on the neck again.

"I think everything is going to be ok" she said hopefully.

He laid back on the bed letting go of Katara. Katara snuggled up beside him wondering what he was thinking. Before she could even ask he started talking.

"I hope Aang can defeat my father." He said bluntly.

This took Katara off guard. "Of course he will take down your dad. He's the Avatar." She said reassuringly.

"I know, I know. He's the Avatar, but I'm not sure if he has what it takes to take down my dad." He said with a frown.

Katara didn't realize that Zuko doubted Aang so much. "Why don't you think he will be able to defeat him?"

"I don't doubt that he can't, but my father won't go easy. He will unleash on Aang all of his power. He wants Aang dead and will do anything to make sure he dies in the Avatar state so the Avatar will end permanently."

"Aang will defeat your dad. Don't worry about it." She said as she scooted closer to him.

"Aang isn't planning on defeating my dad. He wants to take him down "humanely", and that will never work. If he doesn't destroy my dad then a lot of people will get hurt, including Aang." He said sullenly.

"Maybe Aang can find a way to take him down without killing him, there has to be a way" she said not really believing herself.

"There's no possible way" he mumbled to himself.

They both sat there in silence as they soaked in what was just said. Katara prayed that there was some way that Aang could take down the Fire Lord humanely, but if he couldn't find a way then she hoped he would be able to destroy him. Then Zuko spoke.

"I want you to stay here, in the house, the day of the comet." He said seriously.

"What? I'm supposed to help you take down Azula! We planned that since day one! Why are you telling me to stay here?" she asked.

"I don't want you anywhere near Azula. If she ever found out that we were together she would try to…kill you." He said with a lump in his throat. He didn't want to think about Katara going near his deranged sister.

"You don't have to worry about me Zuko, I can take your sister." She said proudly.

"Katara, Azula has a lot of power, and she would do anything to make me suffer. If she ever found out about my feelings for you she would kill you right in front of me just to watch me suffer."

"Zuko, I'm not going to let you go out to fight your crazy sister while I just sit here at the house waiting to hear if all of you survived." She said holding her ground.

"If you must be there to fight, I don't want you coming anywhere near Azula. You can help Sokka, Toph, and Suki take out the war balloons" he said trying to compromise. He knew Sokka would never let anything bad happen to her.

"No. I'm going to help you defeat Azula. Someone needs to put her in her place." She said trying to insure him that she had to fight with him.

"No Katara!" he jumped up off the bed and stared down into her eyes.

"Why not Zuko? I can't let you go out there on your own. You even admitted to all of us that you wouldn't be able to take her down by yourself."

"Because Katara." He took her hands in his. "If anything ever happened to you, I would never be able to forgive myself." He said with tears welling up in his eyes.

"Zuko, nothing will happen to me, and nothing's going to happen to you as long as I'm fighting beside you."

"Katara, please stay here or go fight with Sokka, Suki, and Toph. Please Katara. Please." He said pleading.

"Ok." She said wiping the tears from his face. "I will go and fight with Sokka, Suki, and Toph."

He leaned forward and kissed her. It was a soft kiss at first, but then it progressed into a passionate kiss in a matter of seconds. She wound her hands in his hair and he pulled her in closer. They laid back down on the bed, and continued to kiss. Zuko loved kissing Katara like this. It felt as if he could stay like this forever, and he knew that after the war that they would continue where they stopped.

"Could you stay with me tonight?" Katara asked suddenly.

Zuko's eyes widened. He loved Katara, but it was too early.

Katara saw the panic run across his face. "Oh, no, not like that Zuko. I just want you to hold me until I fall asleep." She said with a small smile.

"Oh, ok. Yes I can stay with you tonight" he said as he wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes.

"Good night Zuko" she said with her voice full of sleep. "I love you."

"I love you too, Katara. Sweet dreams my love."

He laid there and listened to Katara's slow breathing. This was where he was supposed to be. Why hadn't he realized it a long time ago? He had wasted almost a year chasing the Avatar, when he could have been here with Katara. He could have had more time with her. He knew he wouldn't be able to take down his sister by himself, but he couldn't have Katara there. If Azula found out that he loved her then she would go after Katara and even if he tried to save her, somehow Katara would be seriously injured or worse. He knew that he would most likely not make it to the end of the comet, and he accepted that, as long as Katara would be safe. Sure she would be upset about him dying, but she would be able to move on and live, she wouldn't be condemned to death, as he had always been. First his father was told to kill him by his grandfather, then his father dueled him to an Agni Kia and he was scarred horrendously, and now he knew he would have to fight his crazy, power hungry sister, and he would lose. But all that mattered was him and Katara, and he would make sure that he made his last days, her best.

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**Ok, so I know that last part was really confusing, it confused me too! And I know there is a lot of fluff and not a lot of action, but it is to come, just bare with me! **

**Review if you would like ;)**


	16. Chapter 16

Ok, so it's been like six months since I last updated, and I am really sorry! I've gotten sucked into the world of Dasey and it has occupied my writing of Zutara:( But here is chapter 16! I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own at all-if I did, it would be Zutara instead of stupid Kataang!

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_**She stood on concrete ground that had the Fire Nation insignia on it. This was it. The comet soared through the sky above them. She looked to her right and left trying to find Zuko. Then she heard him yell in pain.**_

_**He was standing about 100 feet away from her. She ran as fast as she could as she uncorked her water skins. Then lightning struck down right in front of her and she fell. She looked up to see Azula shoot blue fire at Zuko.**_

_**He fell. He was dead. She watched through tear filled eyes as Azula walked over to her brother and kissed him on the forehead and whispered something that Katara didn't catch. Then Azula turned her attention to Katara. She moved her arms in an up, in, down, and out motion and lighting shot from her fingers. **_

Katara woke up in Zuko's arms. She shifted a little and his arms tightened in response. Even though he was asleep, he was protecting her. Zuko's loving protection was one of the many things that Katara loved about him, but he was crazy to think that he could go up against Azula by himself.

She shifted just a little more to get comfortable and Zuko woke up.

"Good morning beautiful" he said with a huge grin, "did you sleep well?"

"I could have slept better" she said rubbing her eyes.

"Did you have a bad dream?" he asked.

"Sort of." She said with a small smile.

"How can you sort of have a bad dream" he asked puzzled.

"Well it was a good dream because you were in it," she blushed a little, "but Azula was also there."

Zuko nodded his head understanding. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, it was just a dream" she said with a fake smile. She hoped he didn't see through it.

He looked at her with a little worry in his eyes and then disregarded it. He kissed her on the cheek and then got up off the bed.

Katara looked out the window and saw that the sun had just begun to rise. Zuko acted as if he was about to leave.

"Were do you think you're going?" she asked.

"I don't think Sokka would appreciate it if he saw me walking out of his little sister's room after sleeping here all night." He said sarcastically.

"Well we all see Suki come out of his room every morning, what's the difference?"

"The difference is you're his little sister and I use to be all of your enemy. I don't want to push the guy too far." He said smiling.

"Well can't you stay here until the sun finishes rising?"

"Sure" he said as he went and sat back down on the bed.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him. They sat there and watched the sky turn from purple, to orange, and finally blue. Then Zuko got up.

"I better go" he said rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well I might as well go downstairs with you because I have to make everyone breakfast." She said as she got to her feet.

Zuko took her hand in his and they made their way downstairs. As they walked through the house they saw that no one was awake yet. As Katara made breakfast Zuko sat at the counter watching her. They talked about random stuff. Like how well last night went, and how dumb Sokka was.

After she finished cooking, she went and sat by Zuko.

"I wonder where everyone is?" she asked.

"I don't know, but Sokka's not around" he said with a sly grin

He leaned forward and kissed her. _This is perfect_, she thought to herself.

"Quit eating my sister's face!" Sokka yelled.

Katara and Zuko jumped apart. How long had Sokka been standing there?

"He wasn't eating my face! He was just kissing me. That's what boyfriends and girlfriends usually do Sokka." Katara said.

"Yeah," Zuko agreed. "And I think that if we have to be subjected to seeing you and Suki make out all the time that Katara and I can kiss anytime we want to." He said stubbornly.

"Yeah, well…" Sokka couldn't think of anything. "Fine." He mumbled under his breath.

"Well now that, that's all settled, let's eat." Katara said happily.

They all sat down as Katara rationed out the food onto plates. Soon everyone was full. Zuko had to train Aang today, so Katara had to find something to do to occupy herself.

After she washed the dishes, the clothes, and her room she assumed that Zuko and Aang would be done with training. But when she walked outside to see if they were through, she found out that they weren't. They were practicing the arm movements that Azula did in her dream last night.

"Now Aang, you need to learn this properly. If you do one step wrong, it will kill you" she heard Zuko say as she was walking towards them.

"Hey Katara" Aang said when he spotted her. "Zuko's teaching me how to redirect lightning!"

"That sounds exciting. Why are you teaching him that?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Because my father and sister can create lightning, and Aang needs to learn how to redirect it right back at them." Zuko said in his teacher voice.

This made Katara scarred. She couldn't let Zuko go up against his sister. She couldn't let her dream come true. She had to figure out away to help him.

"Ok Aang let me see you do the form." Zuko said interrupting Katara's thoughts.

"Ok" Aang answered. He moved his arms in an up, in, down, and out motion and it made Katara nauseous. She didn't want to think of Zuko going up against his psycho sister.

"Katara are you ok?" Zuko asked as he walked over to her.

"I think I'm going to be sick" she said as she ran. She knew she couldn't make it to the bathroom so she ran over to the bushes.

"Get a glass of water" Zuko yelled at Aang as he ran after her. When she stopped at the bushes he held back her hair as she threw up. _Why is she sick? Was it something she ate? _The questions were flying through his head. He just didn't understand. She was fine a few minutes ago.

Finally Katara was through. She stood up and found Aang standing there with a glass of water.

"Thanks Aang" she said as she took the glass.

"Are you ok Katara?" Zuko asked as she drank the water.

"Yeah, I don't know what happened" she lied.

"Well maybe you should go lie down." Aang suggested.

"Maybe your right Aang." She said as she started for the house and stumbled. Zuko was right there to catch her.

"Aang, that's enough training for today. We'll start off where we stopped tomorrow." Zuko said as he walked Katara in to the house.

Zuko walked her to the couch and laid her down on it. She was still a little dizzy and didn't object. He was gone for a few moments and then came back with a wet rag that he draped across her forehead.

"Do you fill any better?" he asked in a soft voice.

"Yeah, I feel a little bit better."

"Did you eat anything abnormal today?" he asked trying to figure out what happened to her.

"Not anything that anyone else didn't eat. I think I just got a little bug. I'm ok." She said lying straight to his face.

"I don't believe that, but I guess you won't tell me the real reason so I will just have to believe that lie."

"Don't be like that Zuko." She said pleadingly.

"Well how else am I supposed to act when my girlfriend won't tell me what's the matter with her" he argued.

"Ok. Last night I had a dream that Azula killed you with lightning, and watching you teach Aang how to redirect it brought back the whole dream. Zuko I can't let you fight Azula by yourself."

"Katara your dream won't come true, I will defeat Azula" he lied.

"Then why don't I believe you when you say that?" she asked.

"Because you worry too much." He said and then kissed her on the forehead.

"I don't worry too much. I just don't anything to happen to you."

"Nothing's going to happen to me. Get some rest, for me, please." He said picking up her hands to kiss them.

"Ok." She said giving in. "Will you hold my hand until I fall asleep?"

"Whatever you want, I will do." he said with a smile

"I want to help you fight Azula." She said stubbornly.

"Katara, go to sleep."

As she closed her eyes Zuko worried about her. Lying to her and not letting her fight Azula with him was hurting her physically. Zuko hated to see her like this, but if she got near Azula she would be dead in a matter of moments. He couldn't let that happen. Even though she was hurting right now, she'd be alive when he isn't.

* * *

**:)**


End file.
